FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 3 December 2007CONTACT: Josh Dorner, 202.675.2384 Sierra Club Outlines Hopes for Bali Climate ConferenceOrganization says U.S. and Canada have isolated themselves on the worldstage Washington, D.C. & Ottawa, ON-- The Sierra Club (U.S. and Canada) todayurged the US and Canadian delegations not to block progress at the UnitedNations conference on global warming which opens in Bali this week. "Ultimately, the United States will not be judged by the rhetoric of itsdiplomats in Bali, but by our concrete actions to reduce our global warmingemissions at home," said Stephen Mills, Director of the Sierra Club’sInternational Programs. "Bush administration officials are very good atusing green-sounding language to describe their domestic initiatives thatin fact undermine environmental protections and conservation. At thismeeting the whole world will be holding President Bush and our Congressaccountable." "The Bali negotiations are an opportunity for Canada to move from laggardto leader in the fight against global warming," said Jean Langlois,National Campaigns Director for the Sierra Club of Canada. "Canada and theUS in are isolated from the rest of the world in trying to block bindingtargets that would hold developed countries accountable for reducinggreenhouse gas emissions. This position is fundamentally at odds withCanadian public opinion. Bali is an opportunity for our delegation torepresent the will of Canadians." The entire world--nearly 200 countries in all--is gathering in Bali,Indonesia between December 3-14, 2007 to address the fast-arriving effectsof global warming, the findings of climate science and the early results ofefforts to stop dangerous climate change. Most importantly, the Bali meetings must set the stage for the crucialsecond phase of work starting in 2013 under the UN Framework Convention forClimate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. Some are calling thepackage of agreements to be adopted this month the Bali Mandate. "We are also realistic," said Mills. "Official national policy opposing theKyoto Protocol will not change until the current administration leavesoffice. But thereafter, the Bali Mandate should provide an open pathtoward reconnecting the US to the global process. Global issues requireglobal solutions." Langlois added: "No country will avoid the impacts ofclimate change unless each country takes more aggressive action in thesecond Kyoto commitment period after 2012." Key Sierra Club Supported Outcomes for the COP13/MOP3 Meetings include: Agreement on a coordinated and clear two-year timetable and detailedwork program for both the UNFCCC ("Convention track") and the KyotoProtocol ("Kyoto track"), leading to an agreement at the UN meetings inCopenhagen at the end of 2009. This will provide time for all countriesto ratify treaty amendments, maintain momentum, and avoid any delay orgap once Commitment Period 1 ends in 2012.Adoption of goals to limit global temperatures to no more than 2 degreesC above pre-industrial levels, keep greenhouse gas levels at 450 ppm CO2equivalent or less, and review these goals regularly with regard to newscientific information.Commitment to adopt short term (2020) and intermediate (2050) globalgoals for emissions reductions to achieve the 2 degree C/450 ppm limitas part of the Kyoto/Copenhagen agreement.Provide broad flexibility and resources to Subsidiary Bodies, WorkingGroups and other delegated bodies to assure rapid progress, preparestrong and detailed proposals as soon as possible, and accelerate thenegotiations for a final agreement in Copenhagen in 2009. On Monday, December 3, the Sierra Club hosted a side event at the GrandHyatt in Bali on the organization’s Cool Cities Program, an excitingapproach to building local grassroots power to take action on globalwarming. Sierra Club's Cool Cities program recruits and engages local citizens insecuring commitments from local public officials to establish goals forgreenhouse gas reductions and to plan for how to achieve those reductions.Thousands of Cool Cities volunteers are working in hundreds of citiesacross the United States and Canada to advocate for local action on globalwarming. These local volunteers are also active at the state, provincialand federal levels advocating for policies and action on climate change. ---------With over 1.3 million members and supporters, Sierra Club, established in1892 by John Muir, is the oldest, largest and most influential grassrootsenvironmental organization in the United States. Sierra Club of Canada hasactive chapters and groups in every region of the country. Audio Actualities from Carl Pope, Sierra Club’s Executive Director, will beavailable from Friday, December 7 online atwww.sierraclub.org/pressroom/media. Sierra Club Factsheet on the Bali Meeting:http://www.sierraclub.org/international/bali.pdf Local contact information for Stephen Mills and Carl Pope will be availablefollowing their arrival in Bali. Please contact Josh Dorner, 202.675.2384or [log in to unmask], for that information. # # #
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